Hitherto, information-storage systems have been widely used. In recent years, information is stored in the information-storage systems as digital data. Some of the information-storage systems have large storage capacity. In that case, the system and information stored in the system may be administered by different administrators. For example, there might be a case where the information-storage system is installed in a data center or the like, the logical volume of the information-storage system is divided into at least two division units, and the division units are lent to different companies. In that case, the administrator of the system may be a data center-operation company, for example. The system administrator performs the system-error management, the storage capacity-assignment to each of the division units, and so forth. On the other hand, the information administrator may be each of the companies borrowing the division units. The information administrator makes backup copies of information stored in the division unit lent to the information administrator, for example.
When the system and the information of the system are administered by different administrators as described above, a password or the like used to access information stored in a logical volume belonging to each of the division units is given only to each of the information administrators of the individual division units for security's sake. The security of the password or the like is ensured so that the system administrator is not informed of the password. Consequently, it is difficult for the system administrator to access the information stored in the logical volume belonging to each of the division units.
When the security is ensured as described above, it is difficult for the system administrator to view the logical volume of each of the division units even though the system administrator wishes to make backup copies of data of the entire system for the sake of system administration, for example, for making safety provisions when an error occurs in the system. Therefore, it is difficult for the system administrator to make backup copies of data of the entire system, so that a request to make the backup copies should be transmitted to the information administrator of each of the division units and the information administrators should make the backup copies by themselves.
Accordingly, technologies for making backup copies of data with facility have been proposed (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-84327, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-193258, and so forth).
However, each of the technologies that are proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-84327, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-193258, and so forth does not allow the system administrator to make the backup copies of data of the entire system.